Monk seal birth filmed

The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals, has been observed giving birth for the first time in the eastern Mediterranean.

Thanks to an automatic 24-h infrared monitoring system installed in one reproductive cave at Kimolos island, Greece, researchers from MOm (Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal) were able to document two births as well as the postpartum behaviour.

The videos highlighted two threats related to the lactation period. In one occasion, bad sea conditions deteriorated so much that one pup was repeatedly washed away from her mother. Nothing happened to the pup thanks to the mother’s care: she moved the pup to a safer part of the cave and used her body to 'brake' the incoming waves.

The second threat occurred when a person entered the cave. A mother was so frightened that, in an attempt to escape, she trampled over her newborn pup. Fortunately the pup was not injured but the mother left it alone for seven hours.

Temporary mother-pup separation due to bad weather conditions or human disturbance, is the main cause of death for young Mediterranean monk seals. Work by MOm will help design more effective conservation measures.

SB

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Photo: a monk seal mother with her male newborn (from Karamanlidis et al. 2010)

Karamanlidis A.A., Paravas V., Trillmich F., Dendrinos P. 2010. First observations of parturition and postpartum behavior in the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in the Eastern Mediterranean. Aquatic Mammals 36(1):27-32.

For more information:
http://www.monachus-guardian.org/library/karam09c.pdf

State of the Med: the UNEP 2009 report

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) and its Regional Activity Centres have released the first State of the Environment and Development report covering the Mediterranean region, which tackles key environmental issues, including climate change. The “State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean 2009″ was released during the 16th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, which took place from 3-5 November 2009, in Marrakech, Morocco.

The report is a pilot exercise, based on available sources of information and covers the 21 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It finds that climate change is already occurring in the region and forecasts that it will lead to, inter alia, a decline in rainfall, increased periods of droughts and rises in sea-level. The report also identifies the most vulnerable Mediterranean zones and states that climate change will also affect agriculture and fishing, the attractiveness of tourism, coastal zones and infrastructure, and public health.

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The Report

New hope for monk seals at Cabo Blanco

CBD-Habitat documented a monk seal birth in the Mediterranean colony located in the Cabo Blanco peninsula (Morocco/Mauritania), as reported yesterday to the MARMAM list.

On September 22nd, a newborn pup was observed in an open beach. There are no records of such an event in decades, in which seals were persecuted leading them to abandon open beaches and use exclusively marine caves to haul out and breed.

Acording to CBD-Habitat, one of the main set of actions of the Action Plan for the recovery of Mediterranean monk seal in the Eastern Atlantic developed by the governments of Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Mauritania was to “promote the occupation of beaches as breeding and resting habitat”.

During the last 9 years, and under these guidelines established by the Action Plan, the protection of breeding caves and vicinities by CBD-Habitat project has been intense reducing to a minimum disturbances caused by goose barnacle pickers, fishermen as well as the threat of illegal setting of artisan fishing gears in the area.

After years of continuous efforts, monk seals have began to progressively re-colonize open beaches of the protected area for hauling out. The final step, the use of open beaches as breeding habitat is the event that took place in September, perhaps the beginning of a new conservation path for this colony.

The pup is a female and is in good shape condition. The birth took place in a beach located a few hundreds of meters south of one of the main breeding caves.

This fact joins the progressive recovery of the population, which in 1998 was estimated to have a size of around 100 individuals and that today is almost reaching 200. Although the situation is still critical, these last events bring hope for the future of this population and the species.

Source:
Message sent to the MARMAM list by Pablo Fernandez de Larrinoa
Programa de conservación de la foca monje en Cabo Blanco
Fundación CBD-Habitat, Madrid, Spain

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Photo by CBD-Habitat

Mediterranean monk seal conservation in Greece

Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Honorary President of Tethys, just completed a work for MOm, the Hellenic Society for the study and protection of the Mediterranean monk seal, which includes a national conservation strategy.

The work is summarised in two documents, which can be downloaded from the links below.

Conservation strategy

Full report

Artemis: life and death of a monk seal

Please find below a message by Dr. Spyros Kotomatas, Director of MOm, the Hellenic Society for the Protection of the Monk Seal.

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Dear friends and colleagues,

With great disappointment and sorrow I would like, on behalf of all of us at MOm, to inform you that Artemis, the orphan monk seal pup rescued and treated by MOm for a 4 month period, and released in the core zone of the National Marine Park of Alonnisos Northern Sporades in Greece just over a month ago, was found dead on the 14th of May. Based on the results of the necropsy conducted the animal died of drowning, most probably due to entanglement in fishing gear.

Do find below the press release that we have just issued in relation to the particular case, that provides a detail account of the events and the up to date available information.

A sad last message from Artemis

On Thursday 14th of May, our organization received sad and disheartening news: orphaned monk seal pup ‘Artemis’ had been found dead at the port of Skiathos. Subsequent investigations, including the results of a necropsy performed by a veterinary pathologist from the Netherlands, indicate that she had drowned, most probably as a result of becoming entangled in fishing gear.

With a clean bill of health from her veterinarians, Artemis had been released just over a month ago, into the core zone of the National Marine Park of Alonnisos, Northern Sporades (NMPANS) — this following 4 months of treatment at MOm’s Monk Seal Rehabilitation Centre, that had raised her from a vulnerable week-old pup to a vigorous young seal.

After her body was discovered at Skiathos, events unfolded as follows:

- MOm’s response team recovered the carcass and, in collaboration with the local Port Police authorities, managed to transfer it to Athens that same evening.

- Prof. Dr. Thijs Kuiken, a veterinary pathologist specialising in marine mammals at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, travelled urgently to Greece to conduct a full necropsy at the zoology laboratory at the University of Athens. He was assisted by MOm’s own biologists, who are also experienced in performing monk seal necropsies.

- The necropsy established that Artemis was in excellent nutritional condition and overall health, having a normal weight for her age. There was clear evidence that the seal had died as a result of drowning.

“The results of the necropsy,” said Dr. Thijs Kuiken, “led to the clear conclusion that the animal died of acute pneumonic edema, caused by drowning. The fresh food remains identified in the stomach and the evidence of active digestion in the digestive tract substantiate further that death was sudden.”

To further assess the condition of the animal, additional data were utilized, obtained through the attached satellite tag (GPS mobile telephony tag), that recorded Artemis’ movements and behavior during her post-release monitoring, a program conducted by MOm in collaboration with the Sea Mammal Research Unit of UK. Artemis, up until her death, exhibited a gradual and continuously increasing mobility and diving ability, first around her release site and then outside the NMPANS, covering distances of more than 100 nautical miles, and with dives exceeding 150 meters in depth.

The specific conditions in which the death occurred, as well as the exact cause of drowning, may yet be determined through further in-depth analysis, both of samples from the necropsy, and satellite tag data from the last few hours prior to the animal’s death.

At this point, however, interpretation of the accumulated evidence suggests that Artemis may have drowned as a result of becoming entangled in fishing gear.

“Although the young seal quickly adjusted to its natural environment,” says Vangelis Paravas, Conservation and Policy Coordinator of MOm, “the harsh but unavoidable fact is that Artemis ultimately also had to face the reality of surviving in the wild, just as the rest of the remaining monk seals in the Mediterranean Sea.”

Data stemming from MOm’s long-term research — notably from its current European Commission LIFE-MOFI project, that investigates seal-fisheries interactions throughout the country — have shown that the entanglement of monk seals in fishing gear, and especially in nets, constitutes one of the most significant threats for the Greek population of the species, the largest in the EU.

This threat, occurring commonly during spring, is the main cause of death in immature monk seals. In fact, 47% of the mortality recorded in immature animals is attributable to entanglements.

As part of the MOFI project and in consultation with artisanal professional fishermen and their representatives, MOm is formulating specific proposals to the Greek government to mitigate monk seal mortality and promote sustainable coastal fisheries.

“Despite difficult and disappointing times like today,” says Dr. Spyros Kotomatas, Director of MOm, “monk seal rescue, treatment and rehabilitation remains a key priority for MOm in the conservation of Europe’s most endangered marine mammal.”

We will keep you informed of any further developments as they become available.

MOm, would like to thank all people, institutions and bodies that participated, assisted and supported the particular effort and express our commitment to continue with conviction the course towards achieving MOm’s mission to conserve the most critically endangered marine mammal in Europe and to protect the marine environment of Greece.

Dr. Spyros Kotomatas
Director of MOm

Sea lions and marine debris

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game with Sea Gypsy Research produced an educational video called ‘Entanglement of Steller sea lions in marine debris: identifying causes and finding solutions’.

The video describes how Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) become entangled and - most of the time - dye for this reason, which are the most common sources of entangling debris, and what one could do to help reduce the number of entanglements.

These animals are threatened because of us and unfortunately this problem is not only related to sea lions but affects any marine animals such as cetaceans, elasmobranchs, pinnipeds, sea-turtles, marine birds, and big fishes.

As the video says: “... Since many of us live near some types of waterway, enjoy eating seafood and use plastic materials, we all contribute to the problem... Let’s be part of the solution!”

SB

The video (11 min. long)

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For more information:
http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/
http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/marine_deb.html

New monk seal breeding colony in the Aegean Sea

An island previously reserved for military use turned out to be a safe heaven for the endangered Mediterranean monk seal. Three out of the eight caves are suitable for pupping and in 2004 ten pups were identified, four in 2005 and seven in 2007.

Being off limits for all but the military, the beaches of this island provided a safe place for mothers and pups to rest, a behavior that has not been observed in this species in the Mediterranean Sea recently.

This newly discovered colony, with relatively high natality compared to other breeding sites in the Mediterranean Sea and the rare use of open beaches, is of outstanding conservation value and is in urgent need of effective protection.

(Illustration: distribution of Med monk seal, Monachus Guardian)

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For more information:
Dendrinos, D., A.A. Karamanlidis, S. Kotomatas, V. Paravas, S. Adamantopoulou. 2008. Report of a New Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus) Breeding Colony in the Aegean Sea, Greece. Aquatic Mammals 34(3): 355-361

Contaminants and marine megavertebrates - a workshop

'Contaminants and pathology in marine megavertebrates as environmental assessment tools' is the title of a workshop organized by University of Bologna on May, 8th, in Cesenatico, Italy. The meeting is organized in conjunction with Gruppo di Ricerca sui Grandi Vertebrati Pelagici.

Aim of the workshop is to focus on potential effects of pollutants on the health of marine megavertebrates. It will focus on different aspects of natural and anothropogenic pollutants and on suspected or proved connections with specific pathologies. Proceedings will be published on Endangered Species Research.

The workshop is open to students as well. Registration deadline is April, 30th.

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For more information:
http://www.eulasmo.org/content.asp?did=30233

Rare monk seal sighted in Sardinia?

The sighting of a monk seal in the waters of the National Park of the Maddalena Archipelago (Sardinia, Italy), made two days ago, was reported in today's issue of La Nuova Sardegna, a local newspaper.

The seal, a young specimen only about 1.5 m long, was reportedly seen cavorting underwater around two skin divers without any trace of fear. One of them, Fannino Curreli - an experienced local diver - expressed no doubts about the identification of the species.

Monk seals, frequent in Sardinia until about 50 years ago, today have almost completely disappeared from the entire western Mediterranean, and sightings in Sardinia are now an extremely rare occurrence. If confirmed, the appearance of a monk seal off La Maddalena is encouraging because it indicates that these rare mammals could one day make a comeback if undisturbed.

Mediterranean monk seals were exterminated by direct killings, excessive fishing and pervasive human disturbance, and have now become one of the most endangered of the planet's mammals. It is thought that only 350-400 specimens of the species still exist in the entire Mediterranean Sea, mostly in Greek and Turkish waters.

Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara

Victoria, a rehabilitated monk seal pup, released back into the Aegean Sea

MOm, the Hellenic Society for the Study and the Protection of the Mediterranean Monk Seal, is celebrating its 20th year of activities with the release today of Victoria, the 16th seal pup the organisation has rehabilitated since it began operating. With only 300-400 monk seals still existing in the Mediterranean, most of which in Greek waters, the survival of each individual is of greatest conservation importance.

Victoria was named after a lady who in October 2007 braved the rough seas near the Greek island of Tinos to rescue the seal pup, hours after she was born. When found, Victoria weighed just 15 kg, was malnourished and suffered from serious injuries. Having been treated for four months at MOm’s monk seal hospital, located on the island of Alonissos, she fully recovered and was taught the skills needed to survive on her own in the open sea.

At the time of her release in the waters of the National Marine Park of Alonissos - the world’s largest and most important Mediterranean monk seal sanctuary - Victoria now weighs more than 50 kg and is quite capable to hunt for her prey. To keep track of her movements and conditions, Victoria carries with her a special transmitter developed in cooperation with scientists from the Sea Mammal Research Unit in Scotland. This will transmit to MOm via SMS constant information on the seal’s whereabouts, depth of dives, time spent in and out of the water and swimming speed.

Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara

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Photograph by Vangelis Paravas, MOm

For more information
MOm, the Hellenic Society for the Study and the Protection of the Mediterranean Monk Seal

What is Mediterranean Conservation?

Mediterranean Conservation explores the possibility of merging the communication efforts of individuals committed to marine conservation in the ancient Tethys Ocean.